We are under influence of high pressure system bringing sunny weather. A hoar frost layer has formed on the snow surface at elevations below 600m. As the temperature increases the risk of full depth avalanches on steep south facing slopes is also increasing. Gate 11, Mizuno no sawa, is closed from today due to the high possibility of block or full depth avalanches around the 700m level. Do not enter the south facing strictly off limits areas Haru no Taki, Yuno no sawa. All peak gates are expected to be open.

Snow conditions are hard in the morning but should be softer by 10:30am. In springtime be aware of snow bridges over creeks, they can collapse easily and the water is cold. Out of bounds areas are out of the ski area and not controlled. There is still lots of snow, have a fun weekend.

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Resort specific opening news at time of writing (subject to change during the day):

Night skiing is planned until Monday 20th March 2017 at the Niseko Annupuri, Niseko Grand Hirafu and Niseko Village resort areas. There is no nighta in the Hanazono area.

Planned closing datesNiseko Grand Hirafu plans to be open daily until Sunday 7th May.Niseko Hanazono plans to be open daily until Sunday 2nd April.Niseko Village plans to be open daily until Sunday 2nd April (and then from 28th April until 7th May).Niseko Annupuri plans to be open daily until Sunday 7th May. Read more ...

Hakuba Now!

Saturday 18th March 2017, 8:18am

Weather conditions:

Clear and sunny

New snowfall:

0cm

Snow depth:

--

Good morning from Hakuba on this first day of the 'long weekend', Monday being a holiday.

And what a start!

Nice and cold early on with clear blue skies and sunshine.

Probably some hard conditions out there early on but with the sun warming things up things should soften up. A chance of a bit of snow overnight (?) but tomorrow also looks like it will be similarly clear and sunny.

I am going to go and make the most of it!

See you tomorrow...

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Resort news as of 8:30am on Saturday 18th March 2017:

All information as available and subject to change during the day due to weather and snow conditions.

Road Condition to Grandeco:Inawashiro through Goshikinuma: icy in partsGoshukinuma through Grandeco: icy in parts Read more ...

Yuzawa Now!

Saturday 18th March 2017, 8:46am

Weather conditions:

Mostly cloudy

New snowfall:

0cm

Snow depth:

--

Good morning from Yuzawa.

Looks like Kagura is reporting 3-10cm of snow (Mitsumata > Kagura) and Maiko Snow Resort are reporting a dusting. It looks like GALA Yuzawa have added 10cm to their official snow depth as well - so a bit of snow at higher elevations though there's no sign of fresh snow down here in town.

They still have close to 4m of snow up there, which is well over double what they had this time last year. Not bad at all!

This morning there's a lot of cloud around, a bit of blue sky in places and the sun has been out (though not at the moment).

Kandatsu Kogen'Hobo All Night' ('Almost All Night' from 6pm-4am) is on Fridays, Saturdays and nights before holidays until 1st April 2017. Spring nighta (6pm-10pm) on Saturdays and nighta before holidays from 7th April until 22nd April

Shiga Kogen Now!

There's lots of people coming up for the weekend this morning with a steady stream of cars going past at the moment.

There was some light snow early on this morning but things have cleared up and now the sun is out and there's an increasing amount of blue sky too.

Generally fine weather conditions are forecast for this long weekend (Monday is a holiday), though there looks like there might be a return to some snow around Tuesday. A fresh layer of snow will certainly be welcome by then.

In the meantime, enjoy the long weekend!

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Official snow depths numbers reported by different areas of Shiga Kogen:

Please note that these numbers are the official numbers that ski resorts publish.

Appi Kogen Now!

Saturday 18th March 2017, 10:21am

Weather conditions:

Cloudy skies, sun trying to break through

New snowfall:

0cm

Snow depth:

--

Hello from Appi,

It’s the weekend again here and we’re expecting another decent crowd given the conditions we have. Right now cloudy skies and a temperature of -2. The winds have picked up slightly overnight and you may get the occasional gust at the summit.

The rest of the weekend will remain the same with partly cloudy skies and fairly light winds. We may see the occasional snow flurry next week but nothing of consequence.

Overall the runs are in great shape still, albeit with a little morning ice that should thaw out by mid day.

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Planned operating lifts at time of report (subject to change due to weather conditions):

Appi GondolaCentral quadCentral number 2Central number 3bCentral number 4Central number 5Central number 6Sailer GondolaSailer quadVista quadNishimori

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Official snow depth:

210cm

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Appi plans to be opening until Sunday 7th May this season Read more ...

Myoko Now!

Saturday 18th March 2017, 10:28am

Weather conditions:

Sunny, but with thin high clouds

New snowfall:

2cm

Snow depth:

--

Sunny again today, but with the high haze/thin clouds we often see on sunny days.

Looks like it will stay sunny through the day, although there's still snow forecast for the coming days. I am adding a little snow to today's fresh; I didn't see it with my own eyes, but there's a light coating on the roof that wasn't there last night.

The other nice thing this time of year is that all of a sudden we have a lot of birds singing in the hills. I think they like that warm sun; maybe they know that dining is going to be a little more interesting soon, too...